Carrie Stroup here with your Colorado vs. Philadelphia Series Betting Preview with the first game going off Wednesday evening.
The defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies have ability to score runs by the bushel-full and have strong starting pitching. The Phillies topped the National League in runs scored at 5.1 per game, which was just ahead of second place Colorado at 5.0. The Phils boast playoff experience, the Rockies were one of the league's hottest clubs in the second half of the regular season. It should be a great series, and an exciting one to bet on. Speaking of which, Sportsbook.com has all kinds of options available for you to consider. Head over to the LIVE ODDS page to see all those.
Need a game changing home run, look no further than these two clubs with Philly going yard 224 times (1st in NL) and Rocks batters sending the ball over the fence 190 times (2nd).
No team can live on hitting alone and Colorado had five different starting pitchers win 10 games or more, led by Jorge DeLa Rosa 16 wins. The Phillies have Cole Hamels who pitched much better the last two months than the first four and knows what it takes in the postseason. The addition of Cliff Lee gave the Phillies a wonderful a chance to win every fifth day and placed Joe Blanton in better position as a solid starter.
Both lineups have the ability to explode at any time, which sets up the potential for a great deal of second guessing by the managers in this series when it comes to making pitching changes. When has a starter had enough or can he work out of jams?
This leads to the late inning bullpen situations for both teams. Closer Brad Lidge was given every opportunity to succeed by manager Charley Manuel and he failed. Ryan Madison is now the closer, but his mental makeup is unproven in this pressure packed role. Huston Street has only allowed runs once in his last 10 appearances, yet nobody is convinced he's Mariano Rivera material.
Offensive - National League
Runs scored Colorado 2nd Philadelphia 1st
Home Runs Colorado 2nd Philadelphia 1st
Slugging Pct. Colorado 2nd Philadelphia 1st
Walks Colorado 1st Philadelphia 7th
On base Pct. Colorado 2nd Philadelphia 8th
Pitching & Defense
ERA Colorado 7th Philadelphia 5th
Bullpen ERA Colorado 13th Philadelphia 9th
Strikeouts Colorado 8th Philadelphia 9th
Walks Colorado 4th Philadelphia 2nd
On base Pct. Colorado 6th Philadelphia 7th
Putouts Colorado 12th Philadelphia 4th
Errors Colorado 5th Philadelphia 2nd
Key Numbers- Philadelphia won four of six meetings this year and tied for the best record in baseball on the road at 48-33. Colorado's mission is to earn split and return home where they had the second best record in the senior circuit on home turf with 51-30 record. The Rockies are only 6-18 vs. NL teams scoring 4.8 or more runs a game on the season, while the Phillies are 17-7 when facing the same kind of offense.
Sportsbook.com Series Odds: Phillies -170, Rockies +145
